New Friends

If you are a follower of this blog, you are a member of a growing group. As we travel, we keep picking up new "Fans". Why the quotes? Well, as a Christian band, we believe that we should not lift up any man to a higher place. To be a fan in the traditional since, is to elevate a performer or band above others and to hold them in high regard. While it is appreciated when people tell us how much they like what we do, I prefer to call them simply friends. As we play a concert, we try to both have fun doing so as well as connect on a personal level with our audience. We are not interested in playing a "show" and running out the door. We want to build relationships with people. We want to hang out with you, get to know you. Swap cell numbers and email addresses. Simply be real with those we meet along the way. I still communicate with people we played for a year ago! They do not think of us as just a band that came to play, more as new friends they can get to know better by way of online networking sites or just by phone. That is really what it is all about...The kingdom cannot expand adequately without knitting of hearts. So, if we come to your church or event center, play a concert/worship service for you, it is not intended to gain us a legion of fans, but to bring new churches, people and ideas into the service of God.

So if you are reading this, do not be afraid to send us an email, we are open to travel anywhere God will take us. Sometimes that means Him speaking to you about having "Jamison" come and share music and testimony at your church or wherever! Till next time...Jamison

jamison@jamisontunes.com
www.jamisontunes.com

We are back

Well, Chicago was a fun trip. We feel like we accomplished what we were supposed to. We went to the America's Got Talent auditions there and had a great time. We arrived at McCormick Place at 7am to get in line. Turns out that we were not the first to arrive. In fact, people had lined up the night before and stayed the night in below freezing conditions. A cold front had settled in and dumped 2 feet of snow on the Michigan side of the lake, but just brought cold temperatures to Chi town. We waited several hours outside finally making it into the photo free zone. We then staged in a large room and waited for 2 more hours to be called to audition. While in that room we were able to break out our guitars and play to those around us. We took advantage of that opportunity. I am sure people were being effected as we had several people approach us and say they were pulling for us. Either way, God knew who would hear what and when. Our audition was brief as expected. We are hopeful, but realize that the odds are against us. There were probably about 3000 people there to audition. We will be notified in the spring as to weather or not we advanced.

Now we are gearing up for a new opportunity. We are traveling to Nashville in February to the Band With A Mission contest where we will be singing 3 songs before a panel of music industry people and record company executives. We have 2 other events lining up while we are there. We hope to bring our unique delivery of the gospel to music city. The BWAM event has launched the careers of such bands as Rush of Fools and Sidewalk Prophets. After meeting some of those guys, I wold feel honored to be in their company. Wish us luck! Till next time...- Jamison

Getting stoked...

For all it's worth, the upcoming trip to Chicago has me pretty amped up. We leave this coming Friday and we are all about to pop. We have a couple of rehearsals planned this week. I love to jam with the guys. Oh yeah...the guys...Who are they you ask? Well there is Danny (D-Hart) Hartley. Jersey born but been in Kansas for 8 years. He is a long time friend who's drumming can be best described as "in the pocket". Danny knows how to play with passion while not over complicating the music. I have played with many drummers...most believe that the drums are what make the music. Danny plays in a way that compliments it. He is very easy to work with on new rhythms and fills. He takes constructive instruction well and is humble about his ability. He has the driest sense of humor that I have ever heard. To have Dan on a trip is to have perfect comedic timing in any situation...love him.

Kent Daniel is a transplanted Alaskan. His experience on the guitar is playing in his room as a teenager then playing in a band with me called Far From Perfect back about 5 years ago. Kent is a great rhythm guitar player and is rapidly becoming a much better solo player. He is very easy to teach as well. Kent is very intelligent. He holds a degree in Biology from Pittsburg state with emphasis on wildlife studies. This means the dude can look at your boots and tell you which snake they came from and where they habitate...as if you would even care. Ha! Either way, he is a great friend who would do anything you needed up to and including giving you the shirt off his back. Great guy!

Hunter Peterson is not unlike many people in Pittsburg...He came here seeking an education and found a family in God and has decided to stay. He and his wife Emily recently bought a house and have committed to sticking it our in our church and are becoming core people very quickly. Hunter has a great attitude and sense of humor as well. His bass playing can best be described as explorative and unique. He will play whatever I ask him to but ad his own spin on it to make it that much more interesting. He is also a prolific photographer. he has an amazing eye for it. I look forward to many years spent hanging out with him and Emily and watching their family grow.

Jesse Thompson is the silent member of the band. He is our sound guy. He goes where we go. He takes very seriously the art of making us sound good. With Jesse at the mixer, I have heard many comments on how clean and clear the sound is. In fact, I have been told on more than one occasion that we sound better live than on the CD. That says a lot. Jesse will run through a wall of burning flames to help a friend in need. He is currently in brick laying school and is excelling at it. He is a great man to have around and a true friend.

Why do I put this information in this blog? It is to introduce you to my friends, my band and to announce that "Jamison" is no longer a solo artist. It is now a full on band. We expect great things in the future and look forward to what God will do with this mix of guys on the road, in churches, bars, coffee shops and wherever he will place us to preach the good news of Jesus to the world! Till next time... - DJ

Crazy fall

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged, so I thought I should. The band and I have been busy boys this summer and fall. We have had tons of events scheduled and continue to book more of them. God is doing great things and we are hopeful that He will continue to use us to speak to His people. I have been working a lot of hours of late and saving up money for an upcoming trip to Chicago. The band and I will travel to Chi-town along with my daughter and my wife to audition for "America's Got Talent". My daughter Shelden has written a song and will sing it acapella for the judges. The band and I will do 90 seconds of "Psalm 33" from my CD.
I am absolutely loving touring with the guys. Danny, Hunter, Kent and I really enjoy spending time together and cutting loose. I have seen much improvement from the guys in their skill level and level of relaxation on stage. They have really amped it up. They have taken to jumping around on stage and having fun while praising God. This makes me smile. I am glad they feel they can do so. They do not do so to entertain man, but to express their hearts of worship before man...If you are reading this blog, and are in an area where we will be playing, please come out. We would love to rock with you! Till next time - Jamison

New things a coming...

Hello and welcome to the land of no comments! Haha. I know some of you are reading this...please make me feel like you care...leave a comment once in a while.

Exciting news. "Song Of Creation" was chosen out of hundreds of song submissions as a top ten finalist in a national talent search. My band and I get a chance to play at the Rock The Light festival in September! Average attendance is 3-5000 kids and youth workers! How cool is that!!! We will get passes to the festival included with it too. We will play 1 song then be judged. If we win, we will get to go to Nashville and play for a panel of record label people with Word Records. It is a long shot, but hey...It will be fun. Wish us luck. Jamison

Home Sweet Home

I decided it would be very memorable to take a slight detour to Roanoke, VA to see the blue ridge parkway. I guess the weather had other plans. The normally picturesque drive through the blue ridge mountains was thwarted by a layer of dense fog. I mean seriously??? We could not even see the guard rails...I had my eyes glues to the road. This was some serious fog. We took like 1 picture before it was just too dense to see anything. We drove for 10 miles then just hit the interstate. West Virginia was very beautiful, but the drive was insane...18.5 hours from Roanoke to Pittsburg. We decided not to stop and just forge on to get home. We arrived shortly after 1:30 am. We took out only what needed brought in and hit the hay. We slept in till about noon today...whew...what a trip. We had a great time, made lasting friendships and had several chances to play music and blessed some people in the process. I was very well received and blessed my self with many compliments. Back to the grind tomorrow. Working 96 hours this week starting tomorrow. I am playing at the "Love Bubble" here in Pittsburg on Friday night at 7pm. It is a local radio station with a retail shop in the mall. Thanks for following the blog and checking in. Jamison

Heading for home

Last night was our last night in New England. We were very sad to say good by to our new friends there. We have made great connections to several families in the area. The Webers hosted us sight unseen the first several nights. We made fast friends with them and will miss them greatly. The Beenes hosted us the remainder of our visit in their home in Bristol, CT. We were treated very well and have made good friends with them as well. We made connections with many people there and were welcomed with open arms. Thanks very much CLC for all of your sacrifice. I truly hope to return the favor some day.

We spent the evening last night in Springfield, Mass playing at "The Underground Cafe" there it is a cool little place where on Friday nights a local church there hosts an open forum style coffee shop, music venue and radio station. It was pretty cool. I met some new friends there and hope to return sometime in the future.

After an amazing trip to the northeast, meeting new friends, playing music in big cities, visiting several new states and seeing the beautiful countryside, we are once again on the road. We have decided to take the scenic route going home instead of the suicidal pace I had originally planned. We took a detour and are currently in Roanoke, VA. We drove about 10 hours and arrived about an hour ago. I have long desired to drive the blue ridge parkway up from Roanoke. So tomorrow we will get up early and head out to enjoy the artistry of Gods hand in Virginia. We will then cut over and travel through West Virginia, Kentucky and finally end up in Missouri late tomorrow evening. I will post pictures of the trip on my face book page as we travel Verizon network permitting....thanks for reading and keeping up. Jamison